Reality Check
by AkaiTennyo
Summary: You can live a life of daydreams and ideals, but life will eventually slap you upside the head anyways...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Hey kid! Hurry up! Mrs. O'Malley's here and she want her Nibbles back!"

The loud bellow from across the field caused a tall 13-year-old girl hunched in the mud to groan in pent-up frustration. She had been trying to get a Poochyena puppy out from under a pile of hay bails (how and why it had dug itself under she had no clue) but now she had to slop all the way over to the stables to get an infuriating Stantler stag for an equally infuriating old woman with more money than sense. She shoved limp brown hair out of her eyes and consoled herself with the knowledge that Mrs. O'Malley tipped well and the hope that maybe, just maybe, her plotting would pay off for once.

It wasn't easy, working at a Pokemon Daycare. It was labor intensive with long grimy days and had involved a crash course in everything from basic veterinary skills to office management. But since the genetic engineering of the beloved Nintendo creatures five years ago religious fanaticism, hotly debated politics, and the sheer price of obtaining one had kept Pokemon so incredibly scarce that even seeing one was a rare treat. The girl remember all too well the elation that the day had held, hearing the announcement that Nintendo had secretly succeeded in genetically engineering over 400 of its beloved game animals, evolutions and all. She like many other children who heard the news had welcomed the idea of becoming a pokemon trainer in real life. Several miserably disappointing years later, she and so many others had yet to achieve that dream.

Because as usual, the adults of the world had to muck everything up.

The few Pokemon religious fundamentalist nuts didn't kill right off the bat, the government had banned outright. It took over three years for environmentalists to get behind the idea of animals and plants that could defend themselves and their homes from further human encroachment and various national governments and big time corporations around the world were still having conniptions. PETA had waged an unsuccessful international campaign to stop the use of the creatures in battling that the girl didn't understand (there had been something about pit bulls in their argument but Catherine hadn't really paid attention) but the animal rights organization had at least been successful in stemming the mass slaughter of the genetically engineered creatures by the general public.

And of course, the Nintendo Company had been slapped every which way with lawsuits. No one had been really happy about the unauthorized creation of hundreds of new species. The secret research into psychic abilities and the human DNA that was supposedly used in a few pokemon creations had just made the media fervor worse. People had actually accused Nintendo of plotting world domination. Personally, Catherine was of the opinion that anyone who could do all that probably deserved to rule the world, but she kept it to herself. The company was just now getting itself back into production of not only games but now real pokemon training equipment and the chore of setting up an actual Pokemon League and distributing licenses and starters. To say everything was backlogged would have been a massive understatement.

Standards were finally in place in the US and they didn't make many very happy. You had to be 12 to get a license to own a pokemon but couldn't travel out of your home state on training journeys until you were 14 and _then_ you needed parental permission for nearly everything: taking the test, accepting the license, which Pokemon you got, travel permits, the works. With all the negative press Pokemon were still receiving, few parents were willing to let their children get them at all. Most trainers were adults, and rich ones at that. Getting a Pokemon often involved a lot of money and connections that kids just did not have.

Catherine's own parents disapproved of Pokemon and were of the opinion that their creators had been playing God but they weren't willing to kill the creatures themselves. Catherine took the small consolation that the adults who ran her life felt that killing Pokemon for no reason was worse than creating them, if only barely. And they barely tolerated Catherine's devotion to them. Her parents were deeply opinionated, and most of their opinions seemed ridiculous to their daughter, but they weren't stupid people. They knew Catherine was too stubborn for them to outright forbid her from becoming a trainer. Instead they took a method of passive aggressive sabotage. Catherine could do what she wanted, but they weren't going to pay for any of it. Had they ever been surprised to find out about her job at the Daycare.

Catherine shook her glare away and focused on the painted red wood in front of her. Both hands were needed to shove open the heavy stable doors and the girl wasted little time retrieving the haughty stag and, stopping only to skritch the ears of a pretty Vulpix vixen sharing the space who looked just a little plump, high tailing it to the warmth of the Daycare's main building.

"Ah, Catherine, there you are. And Nibbles," greeted the daycare owner cheerfully. Old Mr. Carter had been a retired dog breeder until the opportunity to create the only Pokemon Daycare in the Mid-Atlantic had come his way. Business was smashing despite all odds.

Although she was the youngest of all the caretakers, Catherine was by no means coddled. Convincing Mr. Carter to give a 12 year old a job had been difficult to say the least, and Catherine was grateful for both the job and that getting it hadn't required a sacrifice of dignity. Time yes, lots and lots of time, but no dignity. But the stubborn girl had proven her dedication through blood, sweat, and, occasionally, tears, and had been accepted by the other caretakers in the Daycare. She often did the menial, grimy jobs that the other more experienced workers hated without too much complaining. Catherine was happy enough to be near Pokemon all the time.

But part of her still wanted to be more. That annoying ancient cartoon theme song still echoed deep in her heart and Catherine wanted to be more than just devoted. She didn't really care about being the best. She'd be happy with being good. Heck, she'd settle for simply being a trainer.

Seeing the overly enthusiastic Mrs. O'Malley fuss over her "precious Nibbles" and his perfectly groomed coat and overconfident attitude only cemented that wish.

 _'_ _Gods,'_ she thought, _'I really need a Pokemon.'_

o. o. o.

Shifting the twenties into her pocket, Catherine grinned, the smile actually reaching her blue eyes and putting a skip in her step as she hopped onto the bus to home. With Christmas just around the corner and Mrs. O'Malley's tip to help see her through the holidays sales things were looking bright. Even her beloved grandparents were coming up soon so the end of the year was looking good. And though her plan was not yet complete the signs were good; she just had to wait a little longer. Patience was a virtue and all that crap.

Catherine's good mood kept her skipping all the way off the bus and onto her remote suburban street before everything came crashing down…literally.

An angry bellow was followed by the deafening crack of a gunshot and a large oak branch fell inches from her nose; Catherine dropped to the pavement on pure instinct. The screaming continued and revealed the culprit to be a red-faced man roughly in his forties that Catherine recognized as a normally docile neighbor. Now though, the usually friendly man was yelling at the top of his lungs about a ruined garden and freak squirrels. The last part caught Catherine's attention but before she could respond another booming crack brought down another branch.

And a very angry blue and white squirrel.

"Pa~CHI!" the little Pokemon screamed and, upon seeing the human getting up in front of it, started sparking menacingly. Catherine grimaced and scrambled backwards. Tripping over herself to get away, Catherine was too slow to avoid the hyped up electric Pokemon and screamed as a bolt of powerful static sent her back to the pavement. Shaking, she tried to get up again and away from the angry Pachirisu.

Her movements only seemed to make the squirrel angrier and it readied another bolt. Catherine winced in anticipation but before the Pachirisu could fire again, a sharp twill rang through the air. Catherine looked up in time to glimpse the largest Pidgey she had ever seen (not that she'd seen many) body slam the Pachirisu talons first.

Whatever happened between the two Pokemon took place far too fast for Catherine to distinguish. What she did know was that in just a few seconds the Pachirisu was hightailing back into the woods and she was curled back up on the pavement trying to guard an angry flapping bird from her equally angry neighbor, and he was flapping a gun. A double chunking sound sent Catherine's heart dropping into her stomach. She summoned the courage to look up, only to have it dissipate as she stared up the track of a double-barreled shotgun.

Her brain sputtered to a halt at the sight.

"Missy you let go of that freaky bird right now," ordered her (now certifiably insane) neighbor.

Catherine didn't respond. Her mind was still trying to get past the loaded shotgun. Were guns supposed to look greasy and dirty? Her dad's were pretty clean. Were the ends of a barrel supposed to look frayed? Didn't that mean he'd sawed off the ends? Wasn't that illegal?

Was her brain really focusing on such asinine details when survival was on the line? Bad brain! BAD! Man with gun. AIMED. AT. YOU.

The angry neighbor repeated himself with a growl and a nudge of the gun that only made Catherine curl up tighter in fear. She started stuttering wildly at the man. Oddly enough the Pidgey protected by her arms went still and twittered along with her. The man's grip on his gun shifted, but still he did not fire. However angry the Pokemon's twittering made her neighbor Catherine was slowly realizing that he was not willing to shoot with her caught in the crossfire. Slightly emboldened, but mostly desperately relieved, by the man's reluctance to commit murder in broad daylight, Catherine gathered the bird more securely in her arms and slowly got to her feet.

Her refusal to release the Pidgey made the man threaten her again with the gun but now Catherine only glared and shook her head roughly. She was angry now too, but didn't trust her voice yet. Luckily a yell from down the street distracted both humans from any escalating violence.

Catherine sagged in relief to see a much more familiar neighbor, a beloved old French lady who lived across from her, rushing toward them in a panic. On impulse Catherine shoved past the gun-toting madman and ran full out to the overprotective embrace of one Madame Bertrand.

o. o. o.

Nearly an hour later Catherine was so happy her joy could be compared to a balloon. She felt light and free and fully capable of floating away all on her own. It was nice, she decided, to see adults get a talking-to. And dear old Madame Bertrand, mother of four and grandmother to nine, was an expert in talking-to's.

The mad-in-more-ways-than-one Mr. Jones (Mdm. Bertrand had kindly included his name at the beginning of her rant) had been thoroughly humiliated by the little old lady. A sawed-off shotgun was no match for the power of a well-practiced finger wave and what had been a near homicidal maniac was now a meek and apologetic man.

"And you!" Madame Bertrand was finally winding down, "If I ever see you do something so thoroughly irresponsible again Monseur Jones I will hit you upside the head with your own gun and let you explain yourself to the police instead of just this girl's parents!"

And the older woman motioned for both the girl and the man to move towards Catherine's home. And parents.

Catherine's happy little bubble promptly burst.

o. o. o.

Blue eyes were scrunched in an effort to conceal her furious pace of thinking. Catherine was nearly desperate. The brown bird still tucked in her arms gave off would-be comforting coos but it only reminded the girl of what she was up against.

Her parents were furious. Obviously they were mad at Mr. Jones; no one liked to hear that someone had shoved a gun in the face of their 13 year-old daughter. But they were also blaming the situation on Pokemon in general, claiming that if the creatures didn't exist the problem would have never happened. And, Catherine felt, they were also blaming her. She didn't miss the contemptuous looks her parents had given the Pidgey or the angry and disappointed glares they had given her when she readjusted her arms to hide more of the bird from view.

It wasn't fair! The little bird had saved her from the Pachirisu! And it had tried to save her from Mr. Jones too! And even now it was nestled in her arms acting tame as could be in the face of people who definitely wanted to harm it. As far as Catherine was concerned the little fluff ball deserved a medal.

So her mind was literally racing, trying to come up with any reason or excuse that could convince her parents that the little bird was okay and maybe…possibly… deserved to stick around.

It was kind of cute after all, even if it was just a Pidgey.

So as her parents finished yelling at the psychotic neighbor and turned to her, Catherine steeled herself. She had her argument, she had her courage, and as her parents started to address her Catherine reminded herself of her dream and her determination to have a Pokemon. She straightened her back and looked her father in the eyes.

o. o. o.

That evening found Catherine banished to her bedroom.

 _'_ _So much… for my dignity,'_ she thought, but there was no real bitterness to it.

The ache in her bottom protested her position on the bed and the ache in her head protested the light from the lamp. But both pains were ignored because her ears were rejoicing in the sound of happy coos and her fingers were reveling at the feel of soft feathers and her eyes still couldn't believe the not so little ball of brown and cream feathers was actually on her lap.

She had her first Pokemon.

And the price had been her pride. She briefly wondered if she should be more concerned about that, but mostly Catherine was just happy.

For all her reasoning and logic, Catherine's argument for keeping the precious little bird had fallen on deaf ears. Sensing utter defeat and the loss of damn near everything she had worked for and wanted for years Catherine had been forced to fall back on a tactic she hadn't used since the second grade, wasn't very good at in the first place, and usually backfired on her. But desperate times called for desperate measures, so Catherine had reminded herself of all the times it had worked for her little sister Heather….and cried.

Catherine had given in to all the fear and panic of the afternoon, and her ongoing frustrations had poured in on top. She hadn't even had to fake it, the tears came as soon as she let down her walls. Within minutes, she had been bawling at the top of her lungs, Madame Bertrand rubbing soft grandmotherly circles in her back, trying to choke out words to her parents. They had been shocked at her outburst, and faced with a bawling baby girl, her parents had pushed past her rough language and moved to comfort their daughter, bird and all. Mdm Bertrand had suggested kindly, when sobbing had died down to wet hiccups, that the little bird helped their daughter feel safe after such a traumatizing encounter.

Catherine barely saw her parents' stricken looks, and didn't really hear the threats her father snarled at Mr. Jones as he threw the man out of the house. She had just clung to the Pidgey, and buried herself in Mdm. Bertrand's arms as her mother tried to pet her hair. She hadn't allowed, hadn't really even wanted her mother's embrace, until both parents had given in about the Pokemon.

At her wit's end, Catherine had bawled through tears and hiccups that it wasn't fair they throw out something that had consciously put itself in harm's way just to protect her. The Pidgey had saved her, and obviously liked her (this had been supported by an eager chirp) and it just wasn't right to punish it or her for something that wasn't their fault. And it wasn't their fault!

It had actually come as a shock to Catherine, upset as she was, she was half-certain her parents would toss her out of the house along with the bird. Perhaps she had said the last part out loud, too, because her mom and dad spent the next half hour rocking her in a double embrace with assurance she would always be their baby.

Catherine grimaced at the humiliating memory. Maybe her sister had something here…it had been ages since Catherine had gotten away with such open defiance. But was it worth it? Catherine shook the thought from her head. No, it wasn't, not usually. Maybe just this time she'd let herself get away with it, but she could never be like her sister.

Catherine loved her little sister, but the younger girl was often too much for her to handle. If she were honest with herself, Catherine would have admitted that her sister was simply better at dealing with people than she was. The girl was truly amazing at socializing and had a large "collection" of people that most others would call friends. Catherine wasn't too sure though. She certainly didn't like most of them. And Heather wasn't very nice to some of them either, which Catherine couldn't understand.

Catherine could never really understand the comfort of other people's company and there were few people she ever truly enjoyed being around. Her grandparents topped the short list. Catherine had just always felt far more at ease around animals. It was part of the reason she loved Pokemon so much. Animals that could think! The idea made her squirm excitedly. And she had one now, finally her own Pokemon.

It was the mention of needing a Pokemon license to legally keep the bird that had earned her a spanking (' _A spanking! At thirteen!'_ ) and subsequent grounding but Catherine had to admit it might have been pushing too far with her parents, near death trauma or not. They still agreed to finally sign the forms for her test and license but her parents were very unhappy.

 _'_ _Odd how happy that makes_ me _,'_ she thought as she fought the urge to snicker madly. Instead she smiled as she stroked her new Pidgey again.

"You know," she told it, "You need a name."

It cooed and cocked its head to one side in confusion.

"Well," Catherine explained, "I can't just call you 'Pidgey' 'cuz there's lots of you. And I won't call you 'Pidge' 'cuz that's just stupid. Hmmm…" Catherine's palm rested against her chin as she tapped her nose with one finger in her favorite "thinking pose".

The Pidgey only gave a soft coo to encourage more petting. Catherine relented but continued to think about a good name for the little bird. A thought struck her.

"I should probably find out what gender you are first." She gently lifted the bird up. A quick check revealed the answer ("Male.") but got an indignant squawk.

The bird Pokemon hopped to the other side of the bed in protest but Catherine only giggled at it _. 'Him,'_ she corrected herself.

Thinking through possible names was harder than she thought. She wanted to give the Pidgey the right name, something that would last it through all the evolutions. Eventually, her eyes wandered with her mind and she ended up staring at her manga collection. Whoever came up with the idea of associated thoughts would be happy to know that Catherine's mind finally followed a clear path of thinking. It wasn't a hard leap to go from manga to Osamu Tezuka to Astro Boy. And from Astro Boy Catherine clearly remembered that his Japanese name contained the kanji for 'flight' so…

"Tobio."

The pidgey chirped in confusion at the word.

"Tobio," Catherine grinned at her new partner. "That's your name. Tobio. Because you're super fast, super strong, and super brave. Or at least you will be," she amended cheerfully, "It's perfect."

From the sound of the happy chirping, Tobio agreed.

And Catherine's night faded to happy cooing and a deeply contented sigh.

A bitter argument was brewing down the hall, but she was oblivious.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Some Pokemon evolve into more than 1 Pokemon. Name 2 such Pokemon and 2 of their evolutions.**

 _'_ _Actually challenging, though most people will pick Eevee.'_

Poliwhirl: Water stone = Poliwrath, King's Rock = Politoad

Tyrogue: evolution at lvl 20 depending on Attack and Defense stats

High defense = Hitmonlee

High attack = Hitmonchan

Equal = ?

 _'_ _Damn what was that thing called again? Better erase that part.'_

Skritch skritch.

 **Some Pokemon evolve depending on gender. Name such a Pokemon.**

 _'_ _What the fuck? Crap, what was that thing again? The bee, the bee….'_

Vespiqueen. Only females will evolve.

 _'Okay so I can't remember what the pre-evolved form is but that's gotta count for something right?'_

 **Some Pokemon evolve using evolution stones. Name each stone and 2 Pokemon that evolve using it.**

 _'_ _Assholes. Do they really expect us to know all this?'_

Fire stone: Eevee = Flareon, Vulpix = Ninetales

Water stone: Eevee = Vaporeon, Poliwhirl = Poliwrath

Thunder stone: Eevee = Jolteon, Pikachu = Raichu

Leaf stone: Gloom = ? , ? = Victreebell

 _'_ _Darn it. I_ really _don't like grass pokemon.'_

Sunstone: Gloom = Bellassom, Sunkern = Sunflora

Moon stone: Skitty = Delcatty, Munna = Musharna

 _'_ _And if they expect crap on the Dawn or Dusk stones they are shit outta luck!_

 _'…_ _Damn it…'_

Dawn stone: Togetic = Togekiss, Snorunt = ?

Dusk stone: Misdreavius = Mismagius, Murkrow = Honchcrow

 **Some Pokemon evolve via friendship. Name 3 such pokemon.**

 _'_ _Ugh.'_

Skritch skritch.

 **Name eight of the starter Pokemon and their elemental types.**

 _'_ _Dear Gods, WHY?!'_

o. o. o.

The test went on like that for nearly twenty pages. Naming evolutions and Pokemon types, Pokemon that didn't evolve at all, delegating Pokemon to their general habitats, random facts, multiple choice, short answer, and even several essays. Becoming a trainer hadn't seemed so difficult before but the test was quickly proving that idea wrong. It was putting her last science test to shame.

The idea that getting a license was NOT worth this briefly flickered through Catherine's head. The errant thought was quickly squashed under the hefty stubborn streak and years of devotion, but Catherine still looked decidedly unhinged by the end of the test. The only consolation was that she wasn't the only one. Most of the other applicants were older, late teens or adults, and there was only one other person who looked under 16. He seemed unnaturally calm and collected compared to the others though, so she might be wrong.

Eventually Catherine trudged to the front to turn in her test papers. She was neither the first nor the last finished and that always left her wondering. She had answered as best she could and thanks to her job at the Daycare she knew a lot. But there was still so much on the test that had left her confused and scrambling for answers.

Out in the Pokemon Center lobby, Catherine took a deep breath to collect herself. She knew it was only temporary though. The results wouldn't be out until the next day. A pretty fast turnaround all things considered but it still left her with a sleepless night ahead. Tucking Tobio's new, and expensive, ball safely into her bag, Catherine headed out to the bus and home.

It had been a long two weeks since she had gotten Tobio and the atmosphere at home still wasn't very pleasant. The holidays had been effectively dampened by her parents' sour mood and if it hadn't been for her grandparents' enthusiasm Catherine felt she might not have been able to take the test at all, regardless of what her mother and father had said at first. It didn't help that testing had been closed for the holidays. This had been her first, and probably last, chance to get her license. Her parents would never sign the papers again, she was sure of that.

She hoped she had done well enough.

o. o. o.

The next day was a school day and Catherine was firmly ordered to attend classes before she even thought about checking in at the Pokemon Center downtown. So even though she wanted nothing more in the world than to be across the city in the fast paced world of Pokemon, she was instead in her school, stuck in the monotonously slow world of Geometry.

 _'_ _Dear Gods and Nintendo CEO's get me_ out _of here!'_ Catherine thought crossly. But she knew that even after she escaped math there would still be two more classes. She despised English, as they were reading _Romeo and Juliet_ and none of the boys would stop making rude comments, but she wasn't willing to skip her last class, which was art. So she was trapped. And the clock was mocking her with its cheerful ticking. She stuck her tongue out at it, but all that resulted was her Algebra teacher asking her to do the next question on the board since she obviously knew everything already, as that was the only possible reason a student wouldn't pay attention to such a fascinating and necessary subject. Catherine was sure anyone else in the world would only say that with sarcasm, but the teacher seemed to sincerely believe the words coming out of her mouth.

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming.

o. o. o.

Lunch was a brief but exciting affair that day. With only her art class after it, Catherine was more relaxed than she might have been otherwise and so had been open to ideas. Not all of them good. That mostly was the idea of letting Tobio out of his ball for some fresh air. The Pidgey was perfectly happy with having a ball but still liked to be out of it on a regular basis. So out Catherine let him. And even though she had picked the most deserted corner on the grounds and told absolutely no one about it (Who would she tell anyways? The few friends she had didn't share her lunch period) she was still swamped with people within five minutes.

All sorts of different people, most of which would never acknowledge her existence in any other situation, had very nearly mobbed her. Drowning in questions and wildly eyeing an approaching security guard, Catherine had sucked her panicked bird back into his ball and started fighting her way through the crowd.

 _'_ _Never again!'_

And she hid in the auditorium for the rest of lunch, keeping Tobio safely stored away.

o. o. o.

"Do you really have a Pokemon?!"

Catherine groaned. It was bad enough to be mobbed by total strangers but to have her friend in art class bother her about it too…

Most people still considered Pokemon training to be a useless pastime. It held no future that people could see and the popular opinion was that it interfered with your education. Being a trainer supposedly meant you were either incredibly childish and still addicted to the old Nintendo games or you had enough money and free time for it to be an acceptable hobby. Catherine knew exactly which category she'd be placed in and wasn't too thrilled about it getting around at school. The place was hellish enough as it was.

But she would never dream of lying to her friends.

"Yeah," she answered nervously, "I've got a Pidgey… named Tobio. I'm going after school to see if I passed the license test."

Her friend eyed her critically. Catherine could see the girl wanted to say something that was probably horribly sarcastic but stopped herself.

Instead blonde hair just shook in frustration. "You know what they're going to say about you right?"

"I do," Catherine answered, "and you think it too don't you Mag?'

Maggie looked a little startled. Catherine didn't usually read people that well, and confronted them about it even less. But in their small group it was considered a duty as a friend to let someone know when they were doing something really stupid. So Maggie nodded.

"Yes. There's nothing in it, Cat! You working at the Daycare might be good if you were going to be a vet or something but you hate science class. I know you try to be logical but this just makes no sense! No matter how much you liked the old games-"

"It's not about the games!" Catherine cut in angrily, "It's not about playing or even having fun! I like them! I don't know why, but I do, and I just can't…" and here she faltered, moving her hands in a desperate attempt to wave the words she needed into her head.

"I don't think I could live without them," she finished lamely.

Maggie looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

Catherine pouted. "Look, I know it doesn't make sense to you, it doesn't even make sense to me but it's still true. I want to be a trainer. More than anything else. I just want to be around Pokemon. My own Pokemon. And get as good as I can be."

"You want to be the very best?" Maggie asked sarcastically.

Catherine only giggled. "Leave that old theme song out of this would you? I hated Ash."

Maggie smiled for the first time all class. "At least you're not completely crazy."

Catherine threw an eraser at her.

A long pause was punctuated by the scratching of pencils on paper. The girls focused on their art assignments while both considered what to say next. Maggie was the one who finally broke the silence.

"I still think it's stupid."

"Noted."

"You could get hurt. You're risking eternal damnation in your parents eyes-"

"Unfair blow. And completely beside the point."

"Not beside the point, they still have to sign everything don't they?"

Catherine grumbled. Maggie considered it a win for her and continued. After several more points that were countered or dismissed Maggie decided to pull on something she knew would spark a reaction: "It will mess with your GPA." Catherine had always been determined to enter university.

Catherine looked up from her paper, eyes narrowed and lips pursed. "No it won't," she declared so matter-of-factly that Maggie's sense of victory at getting her reaction lasted only a second before fading into disbelief.

"It won't?" the blonde asked.

"No. I've already discussed it with my parents believe it or not. I'm going to take a travel course this summer to see if I can keep up, and in math of all things. If I get less than a 'B' I have to turn around and come home. If I do well I can have my 60 days of trainer's leave next year, not that I'm likely to use them all. We'll renegotiate year after next depending on next year's grades. And I couldn't leave until summer vacation anyways. My birthday's not until May. Why not stick around an extra 2 weeks for finals?"

Maggie looked shocked. "How…how did you convince your parents about all of this?"

Catherine shrugged. "I didn't."

Maggie gestured for more information.

"My grandma convinced them," Catherine said with a shy grin. She loved her grandparents for a reason after all. The old woman had jumped on the chance to have Catherine traveling, as she often accused her son and his wife that they never visited enough and that they were keeping her from her grandchildren. It didn't take too much for Catherine's parents to busy themselves placating the bossy old woman without having to go see her themselves. Catherine's father loved his mother but was easily overwhelmed by her. His mother was just as stubborn as his daughter and much more vocal because she was old and could get away with it. Visits with her might be happy but they were very stressful; the old woman never seemed to stop finding faults in how her son raised his daughters.

Catherine wasn't always comfortable with her grandmother nagging her parents but she had happily let her grandmother act as middleman in the negotiations. Catherine's parents were much less likely to snap that way and her grandmother was much better at reading them than Catherine was. So everything was worked out, as Catherine explained to Maggie.

"With your family yeah, maybe," conceded Maggie. "…but what about your boss?"

Catherine swore vividly.

o. o. o.

Taking the bus to the Pokemon Center happened much later than Catherine would have liked. Her language in art class had earned her detention. Catherine hated school when she had something to do; she hated it even more when she had nothing to do and was stuck in a cold trailer with a teacher who looked at you like you were the scum of the Earth.

And the bus was as hot as the trailer had been cold. Catherine absently adjusted the purple scarf around her neck to allow more breathing room. More people crowded on and Catherine almost wished for the days when practically no one used the bus system, except that it would have severely reduced the number of routes and buses operating. Pokemon had been quite useful in that regard. Having long ignored its public transit systems in the face of its car culture, America had finally had to update and expand its use of buses and trains to accommodate the increase in travelers under the age of 16. Even Amtrack was being expanded, with a new promotional offer for a lifetime pass in the works.

Oh, did she want that one.

The only down side to the increase in public transportation was that now people were trying to raise the driving age to 18 since teenagers actually had other options in getting around. That was making lots of teenagers unhappy, but as she couldn't drive yet anyways Catherine was merely grateful for the ability to move around the city without her parents. Gods knew they would _hate_ being _near_ the Pokemon Center.

But all ponderings on the matter were washed for Catherine's mind as an automated voice announced the next stop:

"North Grace Street, Braswell Memorial Library, and Pokemon Center."

The recorded voice was cold and emotionless and made all the insecurities about her license exam come rushing back full force. Catherine barely made it off the bus before it went roaring on down Church Street. She shook her head and took off for the Center at a run. It was still several blocks away, tucked into a kind of fork made by the main roads, but it was close enough to downtown and was easy enough to find with the signs. It had been a rather large hotel once, before the League took it over.

Catherine slowed down when she finally turned onto the right street and struggled to catch her breath before getting to the doors. She could blame her gasps on the run, rather than nerves, but she'd rather not explain it at all. She steeled herself as she passed through the double glass doors, and prayed with all her might.

There was a crowd gathered in the back left corner of the lobby. There was a mix of expressions on the faces there. When she hopped a little, Catherine could see far enough over the heads to make out papers stapled to a bulletin board. Catherine squirmed through the group to see if she could spot her name.

Elbowing someone in the front of the crowd, she finally got close enough to the papers to actually read what was on them. She straightened and scanned the lists. Naturally, they weren't in alphabetical order. Looking again, Catherine realized they were in order of the scores. Mumbling under her breath she realized in horror that out of 11 pages with names, 8 had scores less than 70%, the minimum score required to pass.

 _'_ _Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods!'_

She jerked her eyes to the three remaining pages. Panic was now taking hold, and her stomach might as well have been invaded by Butterfree. Her name wasn't on page 1! Or on page 3! It was a disaster.

 _'_ _Oh gods! I failed!'_

But before that thought could settle, she saw it. There! Catherine's breath hitched and she looked again. It was real. It was there. Second page. Her name. Her name was near the bottom of page two, with a new trainer number listed beside rather than a red lettered "FAILED". Off to the right a number: 76%.

She did a double take. That was her score? 76%?!

Catherine reeled. She had nearly failed! The joy at passing was suppressed under the knowledge of just how close she had been. She had been seven points from absolute disaster. Seven points! She could have…

Blue eyes crushed close as Catherine shook the terrible thoughts from her head. She had passed. PASSED. It was over.

She let that thought carry her to a better mood and the lobby counter. She was a trainer now. She couldn't waste time feeling bad about near failures. The test had been hard, but she still made it. Her heart swelled as she accepted her license from the clerk, and she turned to bounce away.

And smashed straight into another body.

"AAAAAAHHH!"

A tangle of limbs hit the floor and a flurry of words Catherine would never let her mother hear followed. When Catherine finally retracted her legs and pushed herself up she came face to face with the other youth who had taken the exam. Her brain clicked.

"Oh hey, you!"

The boy blinked at her. "What?"

"You took the test yesterday too, right. I remember because you were the only other young person there," Catherine quickly stopped herself from rambling on. She did that when she was nervous, and it never turned out well. Even people who knew her tended to get offended. No sense upsetting a perfect stranger.

The boy looked at her oddly. Black eyebrows, green eyes, and a cupid's bow mouth twisted into a very strange expression.

"I'm fifteen." He sounded insulted. He looked it too, with that pout.

Catherine waved her hands in supplication. "I mean, well, ya' know, you were the only other person who looked under sixteen, but you were awful cool about it and-"

"And you spent the entire time looking like you wanted to rant at the paper." He still sounded insulted. Catherine went still at his observation. The boy stood up, ignoring the hand she had extended, and brushed nonexistent dust from a rather expensive looking jacket. "You were really obvious about it," he said looking down at her, "you've got no game face. But you passed, I see, so you can't be a complete idiot."

Catherine was at a loss. The boy's words were acerbic at best. He'd basically called her…well he HAD called her an idiot. And part of her wanted to smack him senseless. Gran'ma Jamey had not raised her baby girls to take any guff! But she was also aware that hitting the jerk would vindicate him in some weird way…sort of…somehow. And fistfights were not proper trainer behavior. At least, not public ones.

So Catherine settled for glaring. And frowning. He didn't look impressed with either, though, and just stared at her as she got up.

 _'_ _Time for the mature approach.'_

"I'm Catherine." She held out her hand again.

"I'm Brian." The handshake was brief.

Brian eyed her critically. "Aren't you going to get your starter?" he asked sardonically, tilting his head toward a counter Catherine hadn't visited.

Catherine scowled, oddly embarrassed. "I already have a Pidgey."

"Is that all?" Brian raised an eyebrow.

Catherine's scowl deepened and it took all her self-control to maintain her manners. "It's my friend, and the reason I got to get my license at all in the first place. My parents are unhappy about all this as it is, adding another Pokemon now would be suicide, even if they would sign for it."

That got her a look of understanding and an almost friendly nod. Catherine was shocked to notice that when Brian wasn't acting like an ass…he was actually pretty handsome. Not that it mattered. Boys were always trouble. She headed for the door, impatient to call her grandmother and share the good news.

"Hey!" called Brian.

Catherine spun on her heel. "What?"

"What was your score? I got 93."

Catherine restrained herself from gawking at him. Brian walked over from the counter, pokedex and new ball in hand. He stopped beside her.

"Well?" he asked.

"76," Catherine managed to say, but she wasn't able to keep the blush from her face.

Brian gave her an unreadable look. "76 and a Pidgey. Well I wish you luck. Sounds like you might need it." And with that he walked out, leaving Catherine behind and bewildered. The ensuing thoughts that ran through her head were certainly not acceptable to repeat in public.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Catherine practically danced around the fields that surrounded the Pokemon Daycare. Her life was good. No! It was great! Her laughter rang through the air, a high careless sound, and very nearly a cackle. Her boss had been pleased to hear Catherine had finally gotten her license. Mr. Carter had laughed when Catherine had twirled around, singing of her good fortune. "Saves me the trouble of bullying your parents anymore," he had chuckled, "Now I can use you for more jobs."

Catherine could only wonder just how much her boss and her parents talked about her chosen occupation. She had been under the impression they ignored her job completely. Aside from making sure she saved money responsibly, her parents seemed resistant to even admit she was working.

Mr. Carter hadn't even minded the thought of Catherine leaving on a trainer journey in the summer. Instead he had set out a bunch of rules and guidelines about the Daycare's training services and explained that Catherine could expect to be given a Pokemon or two to raise on the road. Pay for the task would be lower than her normal rate at the DC and that was because she would be dividing her time between the contracted Pokemon and her own.

But she could use them in battle, something she hadn't even considered when she was getting her license. Using other people's Pokemon to fight was…unnerving. Mr. Carter had stressed that while he expected her to train Pokemon placed in her care and normal trainers were acceptable opponents, it was unethical to use them in official League battles such as tournaments and badge challenges. Catherine nodded obediently. She wouldn't want a badge won with someone else's Pokemon anyways. It would be a terrible sort of cheating. She would raise a team of her own for that challenge.

o. o. o.

One of Catherine's new experiences at the Daycare after getting her license was dredging up a disgusting, squelching Grimer from the baby pond. Why and how the noxious beast had gotten there was unknown but it was ruining the water and scaring the Poliwag and Tympole, so it needed to come out. Now that she had a Pokemon of her own Catherine could deal with "renegade" Pokemon that got into enclosures they had no reason for inhabiting.

Tobio seemed to enjoy harassing the purple pile of goo while his trainer snuck up on it with a large bucket, of all things. No one seemed to know where the pokeball for the slimeball had gone, and Mr. Carter had been glowering at the clerical staff when he'd ordered her out to recapture it. Once the Grimer was inside the metal container, Catherine slammed the lid down and fastened the latches. She was hauling the shuddering pail back to the Grimer's appointed mud pit when a shout rang out. Startled, Catherine looked up in time to see a wall of blue fur descend on her. She fell back into the muck and let out a shrill cry right before a rough tongue swiped over her face.

"Ugh!" Catherine spluttered and shoved at the furry mass in an attempt to gain her freedom. A dark claw pinned her down however, and the Luxray it belonged to began to methodically groom the trapped girl.

"Paul!" she cried, "Paul get your cat off of – ah! – no! PAUL!"

A tall young man loped up behind his lion and laughed at the girl's prone body. With shaggy red hair and mischievous blue eyes, Paul was considered a bit of a heartthrob at his college. Catherine knew this because the Daycare Center fielded at least a dozen calls a day from enamored fangirls. Sometimes, when she was on phone duty, she even got to tell them off. Catherine completely understood the attraction though; Paul was… well, hot. He had an aura about him that made you pay attention. He was really friendly too, but tended to tease the younger girl like a sister. Catherine wasn't too disappointed by that though. Paul made a kick ass big brother. Besides, he had a girlfriend already.

Catherine was also in awe of Paul's natural ease with Pokemon and fairly majestic team. Of course, it was the Luxray currently on top of her, Sekhmet, which she had the most contact with. Her current position was not uncommon at all, as the Pokemon seemed to view Catherine as her own personal toy. She shoved at the blue lion again, but it only batted her hands away and continued licking her.

"Blah!" Catherine sputtered. "Paul, seriously I love Sek but get 'er offa' me! Yeek!" Sekhmet had run her tongue across Catherine's open mouth. Paul doubled over laughing at Catherine's loud spluttering.

"Awwww," Paul smirked down at her, "but she likes you so much." He continued laughing as Catherine's protests were muffled by an enthusiastic Sekhmet. It took him a few minutes to calm down and call off his cat. Catherine emerged from her impromptu bath pouting and completely disheveled, hair crackling with static.

"Not fair," she whined at him.

Paul just laughed, "Come on brat, you're the only other person in the Daycare she likes, consider it an honor. Besides, better be nice to me. Sek's found herself a pretty Persian boyfriend…" Paul let the implication hang in the air.

Catherine's eyes widened to comical proportions. "If you are teasing me," she intoned, "I will hunt you down with a rusty spork."

Paul looked at her oddly. "A _spork_?

Catherine nodded seriously. "Yes, a spork. A spoon would hurt more, 'cuz it's dull, but I don't have that kind of patience."

Paul burst out laughing and bent over again clutching his stomach. Catherine waited a minute before poking him in the forehead like he always did to her and whined, "Hey~"

Paul stood back up, sides still quaking with snickers. He looked at the girl in front of him. Catherine's expression was a mix of disbelief, unrelenting hope, and near worship. Paul could only grin at her.

"I'm not teasing you, little kitty-" Catherine let out an indignant squawk at her least favorite nickname (only could Paul get away with it, and only because he was awesome). "-I really am looking to breed this magnificent creature you see before you." Paul gesture grandly to the Luxray beside him. Sekhmet basked in the praise and puffed her indigo mane with a purr. Catherine looked at Paul in awe.

"And you'll really…" Catherine stopped herself, not daring to finish the sentence.

"And I'll really let you have one of the cubs," Paul confirmed with a single nod, sending Catherine into something of a swoon. "It won't be free though," he warned.

Catherine was instantly up and alert. "I'll pay you, really!" she babbled. "Name it, I'll give it to you. Anything! One of Sekhmet's kittens! Oh!"

Paul chuckled and stopped her. "Oi, what do you take me for? I wouldn't take money off a little kitty like you." Catherine didn't even blink at the pet name this time. "Well," Paul amended, "not too much anyways. There is something I'll need you to do for me though…"

"Anything, really Paul, _anything_ ," Catherine breathed.

Paul looked at her seriously, all joking gone. "Sek's due the middle of June. I had some Pokemon scheduled for that time, since it's prime summer vacation, but since my lovely lioness here-" Sekhmet rubbed against Paul's jeans, sparks snapping everywhere. "-will need my full attention, I gotta dump them on other Day Care workers. I think you're already signed up to take care of a Lombre for me, but I need you to take another one too. None of the other trainers can stand him, but I've seen you handle him all right before." He paused there, either to ensure her attention or add drama, either was possible with Paul. "I need you to watch O'Malley's Stantler during June."

Catherine couldn't help but make a face. "Ugh! Nibbles?" she cried. She hated the stupid stag, really she did. All it did was prance about and shred everything trying to sharpen its antlers. Paul was right, none of the other workers at the Daycare could stand it. "It refuses to listen to anyone." It wasn't really a whine, not even really a complaint. It was more of statement of fact made with resolute pessimism.

"Not true," Paul countered, "It listens to you." He poked her between the eyes. "At least it follows you when you've got a halter on it. It damn near drowned Mandy last time she looked after it."

Catherine remembered that. Vividly. And wished she didn't. The stupid deer had dragged Mandy, a sturdy blonde high school senior and an experienced trainer, through two fields and the fishpond before the other workers had managed to catch up and restrain the crazy deer. Catherine hadn't been part of the chase, Mr. Carter had outright ordered her to stay in the main building during the debacle, but she'd had to patch everyone up once they'd managed to get back. The rope burn on Mandy's hands had been horrible. She'd actually had to go the hospital afterwards, and Catherine could count on one hand the number of times an accident actually got that bad at the Daycare.

"You actually think I can handle him?" Catherine asked nervously. She'd do it, really she would, if it meant a Shinx, but she wasn't looking forward to it.

Paul nodded. "I've already talked to the old man about it. Carter says if you say yes, and it's totally your decision, then Nibbles is yours for the month. We don't expect you to raise his level or teach him new moves or anything of the sort. It's just that Sekhmet comes first, and the Stantler has to go to someone. We aren't paid to keep Pokemon in their balls for a month."

"And I'll get a Shinx out of it?" Catherine still couldn't quite believe it. Nibbles was a nightmare, everyone at the Day Care agreed on that, but was he worth a Shinx? On the market they went for tons of money.

"Well, you'll get a Shinx for five hundred bucks," Paul answered. Catherine's expression dropped ridiculously fast so he explained. "I could get two grand a piece easy for the Shinx cubs in the right circles. Sekhmet's got a bit of a name behind her." Catherine knew that. Paul's battles had been on television a few times, and had garnered him a few fans. The beautiful Luxray was a prominent and popular member of his team. "The five is mainly for all the vet bills, and you know that's fair so no mewling. I've already got a deal with the Persian's owner for one cub and I'm keeping one, too. Sek should have four or five cubs, so that leaves a few open to other homes. And you know Sek would love for you to have one of her babies. You're her favorite person here… other than me, of course." Sekhmet confirmed this by licking Catherine's hand.

In her head, Catherine was calculating. She had enough money for the Shinx. She'd been saving nearly all her money since starting work. The fees for her license test and registration hadn't been too bad a hit but Catherine still had a lot of other expenses to factor in. Training equipment wasn't cheap. Because the Nintendo Company was so stretched out and still behind schedule that their supply of products wasn't meeting consumer demands. Some stores she had been in were waiting for back orders placed nearly a year ago. Catherine winced at the current price for pokeballs every time she looked. And there were travel costs to be considered too. The League provided cheap accommodations in Pokemon Centers, but you still had to pay for them. And if the Center ran out of beds you had to get a hotel room on your own. And then there were bus and train tickets…

 _'_ _To hell with it all,'_ Catherine thought firmly to herself. She stuck out her hand to Paul, "You've got a deal."

Paul gave her a wide, toothy grin, and shook her hand dramatically. "Knew I could count on you, little kitty. You're doing me a huge favor. And the rest of the staff a huge favor too. Now they don't have to deal with the satanic Stantler."

"Oi," Catherine pouted. Paul just laughed and mussed her hair some more. Catherine batted at his hand before he moved away.

"I've got to get to the Ponyta pen," Paul said, excusing himself, "and I'm pretty sure that bucket's supposed to have something inside it."

Catherine whirled around in a panic. Sure enough, the Grimer had escaped and was making its way back to the baby pond.

"Tobio!" Catherine cried, running after the purple goo. Paul's chuckling faded behind her.

o. o. o.

The next few months passed painfully slow for Catherine. She still had to go to school everyday, and her teachers were surely in a plot with her parents to destroy her sanity. Because it was the last year of middle school, the workload was ridiculously heavy. All in order, the teachers claimed, to prepare everyone for high school. Catherine didn't believe it for a second. She still had to do it however. Her deal with her parents had hinged exclusively on good grades. Messing up was not an option.

Work at the Daycare was also getting a little out of hand. As she now had her license and Tobio, Catherine could now be called upon to deal with more difficult challenges. Because Tobio was a flying type, Catherine was often assigned to deal with the grass and bug Pokemon. She'd never liked them in the first place, but now Catherine was seriously starting to loath Bellsprout. They were like weeds… scratch that, they _were_ weeds. Some idiot botanist had decided to get a dozen or so of them for research but then left the country for three weeks. In the span of 20 days, the obnoxious little things had escaped their garden plot over 30 times! Catherine was going mad and was nearly ready to ask Mandy for her Slugma to roast them all.

But that was against Daycare policy and just plain mean besides. So Tobio got some good practice snatching the stubborn roots out of the ground. He was leveling up very nicely, all things considered.

It was a good thing that Catherine needed Tobio so often at work, because frankly, she didn't have much time to train him otherwise. Catherine's parents had stepped up their attempts to pry her away from Pokemon and were planning constant family outings. Catherine might have been amused at the blatant, but ultimately useless, meddling, but it was being overpowered by being, bitterly _bitterly_ angry at her little sister, who was now whining about getting a Pokemon of her own. Being the older sister often meant that Catherine had to break her back to get new privileges or certain treats. And then her little sister, only two years younger, would whine about being left behind and how unfair it all was before demanding the exact same thing. Heather hadn't even shown interest in Pokemon before, and had always been completely silent about the issue when it came up. Catherine had been left to fight on her own and now… Catherine's temper was seriously frayed at her sister's abrupt turn around. And worse, her parents were blaming her for Heather's whining. Not openly of course, but for once Catherine could sense the resentment. Like she didn't have enough of her own? Blasted little brat was convinced that the only Pokemon good enough for her was an _Eevee_. Catherine hadn't even gotten to _pet_ the Eevee that had stayed at the Day Care once.

And she wanted one too, damn it. She would not let her whiny scavenger of a sister swoop in and steal one of the few pokemon she desperately desired.

A tiny yet logical part of her brain snorted in contempt. _Yeah, you and every other trainer on the planet. Not gonna happen._

Catherine ignored it and focused on the tattered notebook in front of her. If she got a good enough score on the SOL she wouldn't have to take the final exam. And the standardized test was sure to be a cake-walk compared to what her science teacher would dish up. Their teacher, who was on a weird teaching outreach program from NASA of all places, made insane tests then graded on a bell curve. All well and good except Catherine could never get her parents to understand that getting a 54 was perfectly acceptable when the class average was 37.

So she studied. She studied with Maggie and two other friends, James and Christy, all sprawled on her bedroom floor with a bowl of popcorn between them and Tobio on the dresser overhead deliberating about when and if he would steal some of the snack.

"That bird is seriously weird," said James, pointing a dark finger at the not so little brown bird. "It's like he understands everything we're sayin'."

"He does," Catherine replied flatly. Tobio trilled in agreement. "He doesn't understand _everything_ everything. He'll never pass a science exam for me, nice as that would be. But he does understand you."

Christy pulled her blond hair up from notes about cell division to look at the bird. "He also knows he's cute as a button," she added. "I bet you spoil him with human food. He's been eyeing the popcorn all afternoon."

Catherine gave her an unrepentant look. "So I give him snacks; it's not a big deal. His natural diet is fruits and grains with the occasional bit of meat. It's what I mostly eat too."

"What, no veggies?" scoffed Maggie in a nasty tone.

Luckily, James reprimanded her before the ache could settle in Catherine. "Don't be so rude," he chided, "You've been wretched ever since Catherine said she would be training this summer."

"She's going to be gone ALL SUMMER," Maggie grit out. She looked very upset. Catherine was startled by the intensity of Maggie's expression. Obviously the resentment had been building up for a while, and Catherine hadn't noticed until right then. She felt awful about that. She could image how it would feel if one of her friends was bailing on her for three months instead of the other way around.

"The hell do you care?" Christy shot back at Maggie. Catherine blinked in surprise; the blonde was always so mellow. "You're going to be gone half the time anyways," Christy continued, "or did I imagine you gushing about your great uncle in Germany?"

Maggie had the decency to look abashed. Catherine gave Christy a small smile in gratitude and James nodded, a sure sign the argument was over, and they settled back down to study. Eventually Tobio hopped down to sit with the humans, and they took turns feeding him popcorn.

"You know," said Christy after a while, "I'm really kind of jealous. I'll be stuck taking care of my baby brother all summer. You get to go spelunking wherever you like."

Catherine frowned. "Not really," she said, "pokemon are only in a few places still-"

"There were at least two here," James interrupted.

Catherine shot him a look. "Fine. Large populations are only in a few places." She ignored the boy's smug look. "So obviously I have to go to those places. Mostly it's national parks. The Shenandoah, the Great Smokies, the Everglades," she said ticking off the list with her fingers. A few smaller places have 'em too, but I'll have to check with Mr. Carter about them. I'll have to visit those places. I can't just go anywhere. Wouldn't make sense."

Her friends all looked at her. "So," Maggie drawled out, "basically you'll spend the summer hanging out in some of the most beautiful places in the world."

"With no air conditioning, electricity or running water," Catherine said with mock cheerfulness. "Oh! And an arrogant deer that hates my guts."

"Huh?" was the collective response to that. Catherine sighed, and proceeded to enlighten her friends to the devilry that was Nibbles.

"He put a high schooler in the hospital?" James asked, looking just a few shades paler than his normal mocha tone. "And they're giving him to _you_?"

"He listens to me," Catherine said with a helpless shrug. "What can I do?"

"Saying no comes to mind," Maggie said bug-eyed. "Why would you ever take something so dangerous and-"

"Paul's giving me one of Sek's cubs at the end of summer."

Her friends' jaws dropped. Oh, they didn't want to be trainers like she did. Christy might want an Eevee, but what girl didn't? James wanted to study their genetics, but he loved anything to do with science. He was also really good at it, which made him a godsend at study sessions like this one. Maggie and Christy were hopeless at science and Catherine could never explain it well. And although they all liked watching the battles, for them it was like baseball. They watched because it was exciting, not because they wanted to make a career of it.

But they all knew about Paul. He was a local who'd made it to national television, of _course_ they knew about him. And they knew Catherine actually knew him personally. And Sekhmet really was that popular.

"That…" Maggie's brain seemed to be spluttering, "that's a really good reason to take a demonic deer for a month. A cub? Those must cost a fortune!"

"two thousand bucks easy," Catherine repeated the price Paul had quoted. "He'll give me my choice for five hundred."

James let out a whistle.

Tobio immediately took it as an invitation. Whistling back, the Pidgey flapped onto James' head and proceeded to hop up and down on his thick curls, ready for a game of some sort.

James shouted in alarm and tried to brush the bird off with flailing arms. The girls laughed with surprise and delight as Tobio hopped over and ducked under James hands, always resettling on dark hair with a chirp. James soon started laughing as well and made dramatic jabs at the Pidgey. Tobio skillfully evaded them all, never surrendering his place on James head. The girls quickly gave up any pretense of studying and started making their own jabs, causing James and Tobio to defend together. It was nice, Catherine thought in passing, to play with her friends like this again.

Soon though, their laughter attracted attention from Catherine's parents.

"What is going on up there?" Catherine's mother demanded as she stormed up the stairs.

Catherine, James, Maggie, and Christy all froze in horror. Before anyone could move or hide Tobio, it was too late. Catherine's mother had opened the door and found all four preteens sprawled on the floor, notes forgotten, and the little brown pokemon right in the middle of it all. They smiled up at the furious woman nervously. Catherine's parents had been in foul moods for months because of Tobio's presence. The Pidgey had enough sense to duck down sheepishly, and he looked up at Catherine's mother with an obvious sense of dread.

Christy was the first to break the awkward silence. "Um, hey, Mrs. Richards… um…. We were just taking a break."

"Yeah," Maggie jumped in, "just playing a bit."

"Yeah," Catherine echoed, "we just… um… yeah." She broke off whatever she was going to say and gulped nervously. Her mother's thunderous expression had homed in on Tobio. Catherine's little pokemon let out a quiet coo as she scooped it into her arms, shielding it from her mother's rage.

Catherine looked a great deal like her mother, and it was terrifying to the girl to see a face that would likely be her own in a few years so twisted and hateful. Mrs. Richards visibly reigned in her temper as Tobio was ensconced in her daughter's arms. She regarded the four teenagers levelly.

"Please be more considerate of the other people in this house," Mrs. Richard said coolly, "I could hear you over the radio in the kitchen." Her expression left no doubt in any of their minds of what would happen to them if they got too noisy again.

"Yes ma'am!" they chorused, "We're sorry."

"We'll be quiet from now on," Catherine promised, "we just got a little carried away." Her mother seemed mollified by the words and gave a small smile, though it never reached her eyes. It was quickly removed altogether by a small voice from the hall.

"Are you playing with that bird again?"

Mrs. Richards stood sideways to allow a view of Heather. Looking just like Catherine, save for green eyes and a smaller nose, the little girl stared blithely at Catherine and Tobio. Catherine grit her teeth into a strained smile. Her sister was at it again, and again, she would likely ruin everything.

"You were," Heather said without waiting for confirmation. "It's not fair that you have a pokemon. I want a pokemon too! Mom can I have an Eevee?" Heather turned to her mother with a pouting expression and watery green eyes.

Mrs. Richards's expression turned absolutely steely, and Catherine's friends instinctively drew back. "No, dear," the woman said in what Catherine knew to be a deceptively calm voice, "you're too young to have a pokemon. You're only 11. You'll have to wait."

"What about on my birthday?" Heather plowed on, regardless of her mother's and sister's expressions. "I can get a pokemon then right? Like Catherine." The elder sister bit back a groan. "It's not fair that she gets a pokemon and I don't. I never get anything." Heather ended her miniature tantrum with a tiny foot stamp, and Catherine noted the similarities between it and her own behavior back in December with despair. She silently thanked any deities listening that her parents hadn't thrashed her then and there, and hoped the good fortune wouldn't be completely undone by her sister.

Fortunately, Mrs. Richards was too upset by Heather's whining to do more than send Catherine a dirty look. The woman pulled Heather down the stairs, lecturing her on proper behavior. Catherine closed the door behind them. Breathing a sigh of relief, Catherine slid down the door and sat on the floor with Tobio in her arms. Silence reigned for nearly ten minutes before her friends said anything.

"That was cold," James said softly. He was giving Catherine a sympathetic look. She smiled back gratefully.

"How long has your sister been doing that?" asked Maggie. She was still eyeing the door like it was some sort of monster.

"Since Christmas," Catherine groaned, "Ever since Grandma convinced mom and dad to let me go traveling." And she told her friends about all the trouble Heather had been causing since Tobio had arrived in her life.

"Rotten little brat," James bit out, "she never supported you at all before?"

"And she wants an EEVEE?" Christy scoffed, "Like hell she'll get that one."

Catherine chuckled at the longing in Christy's voice. "No kidding. An Eevee. We had one at the Daycare once," she said wistfully, "and Mr. Carter wouldn't even let people pet it. Took care of it himself the whole time. It was SO cute." She paused, frowning at the memory. "And so expensive," she finished with an air of defeat.

"How much did they want for it?" Christy dared to ask.

Catherine looked at the ceiling with a wistful expression. "Thirty thousand." Christy's longing expression plummeted. Maggie let out a whistle. "That's… high."

"I know."

They sat in silence for a bit longer. Once again, James was the one to speak first.

"We should probably study some more."

The three girls groaned but they knew he was right. None of them wanted to take their science teacher's final exam. They reached for their notebooks once more and got to work.

* * *

 _Author's Note_

 _I honestly hate these, so I won't write them often, but I had a review that I felt should be addressed. It basically pointed out that the world base of the story was overly simple and unrealistic. I agree and actually have two reasons for that. First, Pokemon itself does not have a realistic world base, therefore I do not feel the need to delve into every single detail and explanation of the way this story is being built. That would take the fun out of it. Secondly, this story is meant to be from the perspective of a 13 year old kid. An intelligent and determined kid, but a kid. She's going to take a lot of things at face-value, gloss over details in her excitement, and be completely biased in her teenage rebellion and pursuit of her own goals. Part of the story will be about facing mistakes, shaking up world views, and ultimately growing up, but that will take time. It's only chapter three._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Catherine hummed a soft tune as she laid out her umbrella on the porch for the mudroom. She had a rare afternoon off today and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. There was no work, no homework, no family activities, and, best of all, no chores. Just an afternoon of relaxing in front of the television with Tobio. Life was grand.

Stepping out of her rain boots, Catherine glanced up at the calendar her family kept by the door out of habit. She was surprised, however, to see a red entry for the weekend after next; there had been nothing there that morning. Looking closer, she read the short note and discovered that her father's work was hosting a family baseball game and picnic.

Catherine quickly pulled her work calendar from her bag. She did have work that weekend, but only for Sunday morning. The picnic was on Saturday afternoon. She could do that. It would probably make her dad ridiculously happy, too. Mom and Holly didn't play baseball, and she had been too busy, either with work or avoiding her parents' thunderous moods, to spend much time with her dad. She quickly scratched a note of her own "Will be there :)" in green ink next to her father's entry and made a mental note to tell him in person too.

Readjusting her bag, Catherine made her way through the kitchen, snagging a grape from the fruit bowl as she went, and up the stairs to her bedroom. She tossed her bag on the bed and pulled Tobio's ball from her pocket. With no one else home, her father was still at work and her mother was with Holly at the dentist, it was safe to let Tobio out and let him wander around the house. He chirped upon being released hopped after Catherine when she headed back downstairs.

It was odd, Catherine mused, that he still did that after all the months she'd had him. As chicks, Pidgeys didn't fly that well, so it made sense that they hopped about. But Tobio was more experienced now, and had grown quite nicely. His legs and wings were much longer, and from the slight color entering his crest, Catherine knew he was getting ready to evolve. Pidgeotto, though, walked fairly normally like large chickens. Tobio's hopping was a cute quirk and had endeared him to a large number of staff and clients at the Day Care Center. She'd even had a few offers to buy the bird.

Not that she'd ever let him go. Tobio was her first, and currently only, pokemon. It was practically sacrilege to ever trade or sell your starter. The other trainers at the Daycare were happy enough to testify to that anytime someone tried to get pushy.

Mandy griped all the time about her Slugma, mostly about how limited the places she could take him out were and his … lack …. of intelligence, but the older teen had chewed out the one coworker who'd ever dared to suggest getting rid of him. Most of the other trainers also had good-natured grumbles about their starters too. A pokemon shed everywhere, or it swiped food from plates, or, according to one Furret owner, it always unmade the bed so it could make nests out of the blankets. The only exception to the rule was Paul because Sekhmet was his pride and joy, raised from a tiny blue ball of fluff to a powerful and gorgeous lioness (all his own words). Everyone else just grumbled about him.

Catherine spared herself a quiet squeal of joy at the thought of getting a baby Shinx in July.

Making a grandiose flop backwards onto the couch, Catherine clicked the remote she had picked up during her musing, turning on the TV. Tobio hopped up next her for a cuddle, and Catherine began a glorious afternoon of Discovery Channel and Cartoon Network.

o. o. o.

SLAM.

Catherine bolted awake, sitting straight up and scaring Tobio off her lap. He squawked indignantly from the floor.

"Cathy? You home?" Footsteps were headed in from the mudroom.

Oh, criminey. It was her dad. "Yeah, I'm here," she answered as her dad came down the hall. Tobio flapped onto her head, his claws lightly gripped her scalp.

Her father looked at the bird with a slight frown. "You know what your mother will think if she sees your bird downstairs," he said sternly. "Put it away or take it to your room. She's on her way home."

"Yessir," Catherine said sullenly. And Tobio actually liked TV, too. He was always fluttering at the action cartoons and squawking at animals in the documentaries. But as she turned to go upstairs, her father caught her shoulder lightly. "Hmm?"

He looked at Tobio, who was almost eye-level to him courtesy of being on Catherine's head, then down at his daughter. "You'll come to the baseball game?" he asked.

Catherine grinned. "Yeah, I don't have work that day, so I'll definitely go with you. Just wait. I've gotten a lot better at pitching!" She'd better have, after all the practice she'd been doing. Mandy had suggested it as practice for throwing pokeballs. Those things were too expensive to waste on bad throws.

…But her father didn't need to know that. He was happy enough that Catherine was coming. Her dad really did like baseball. They spent a few minutes chatting about the schedule for the game before her mother's van pulled into the driveway.

And to Catherine's surprise, her father didn't frown or lecture when he looked at Tobio again. He only nudged Catherine up the stairs with a happy grin that had been missing from his face since … Christmas. Catherine frowned at that thought as she walked up the stairs.

o.o.o.

That evening found Catherine pacing around her bedroom, waving a sheet of paper dramatically.

"Okay, Tobio," Catherine said to her Pidgey, "We have some serious work to do."

"Jooooh!"

"Now mom and dad don't like you-"

"Pi!"

"-So we have to figure out a way to change that."

Tobio cooed sadly.

"Aw, it's not your fault Toby," she scritched his crest, it really was getting colorful, "They're just stubborn. I get it honestly."

Tobio snickered, which sounded weird coming from a bird. Catherine shot her Pokemon a dirty look.

"I have a list," she plowed on, "of ways for you to be more helpful around the house. Not that you aren't already brilliant at the Day Care." Tobio puffed up. "It's just that mom and dad need to see it, too."

Tobio trilled his agreement.

"Okay! You could help clean the gutters-"

Tobio shook his head sharply.

"Yeah, yeah. Wet leaves. No fun. Help me take down the Christmas lights. Finally."

Tobio gave her an unimpressed look.

"Yeah, okay, dad should do that one by himself, but you know he won't….Catch the squirrels that are driving everyone crazy?"

Tobio quirked his head for a moment then chirped his acceptance.

"Excellent! Because those things seriously need to go." And they did. While Catherine had never seen the Pachirisu that attacked her again, the rest of the squirrels in the area had gotten … strange. Especially the younger ones. They were faster than normal, and absolutely brazen about stealing from everyone's birdfeeders. Madame Bertrande was going spare. The "arboreal rats," as her neighbor had taken to calling them, had swiped nearly every ounce of suet, sunflower seed, and dried fruit that she put out for the birds. Mdme. Bertrande loved cardinals and chickadees especially, but the squirrels had scared them all off. And they'd done the same to every other bird feeder in the neighborhood, too. The only feathers to be found within a mile were Tobio's.

Worse, the squirrels were smarter, too. Animal Control had been called out repeatedly, but they could never catch them. They left traps of course, but those were no use. The squirrels had learned how to grab the bait without springing the traps. And there was even evidence that they were _escaping_ the traps.

All in all, it sounded like a good job for Tobio. The AC traps were still around. Catherine could use those to hold the squirrels while Tobio caught them all.

So that's what they did.

Catherine and Tobio spent the entirety of Friday afternoon catching squirrel, after squirrel, after squirrel. Eventually, Catherine had run out of traps to stuff them in and had to call Tobio off. She then dialed up animal control to come take the squirrels away.

Animal Control had NOT been pleased about her phone call. Catherine thought they didn't like being outdone by either rodents or Pokemon.

On the other hand, her neighbors had been pretty happy. They were giving Catherine smiles again, even with Tobio perched on her shoulder (he was getting too big for her head). Mdme Bertrande had even rubbed Tobio under his chin after the first cardinals finally came back to her yard, a week later. "Such a 'ard working thing," Mdme Bertrande had cooed, and from then on she called Tobio "Monsier Avis". The rest of her neighbors weren't nearly so accepting, but it was still nice.

Her coworkers at the Daycare got a kick out of the story when Catherine told them the next week. They had wheedled for details and tested Tobio's ability to snatch things midair. Both Tobio and Catherine got pats on the head.

"You know," Mandy said before she left, "Tobio's really close to evolving. He's overdue, too. You should keep him out until he does."

Catherine perked up at the advice. "I will! Mom and dad are loads better about him being out now."

It was a half truth at best. Her mother still glowered quite a bit at Tobio, but oddly enough not around her father. Now her dad had already been getting better about Tobio being out in her room or in the backyard, but just yesterday Catherine had spied her father ACTUALLY giving her Pidgey a quick scratch on the head while he worked in the yard, though it had been absent minded and with a far away frown on his face.

Catherine thought he might have finally noticed the lack of holiday lights, but her father had never said anything about it.

Mandy bumped her out of her memories. "Are you going to be covering for Jake this weekend?" she asked.

"Huh?" Catherine said dumbly before she realized what the older girl had asked. "Oh, no. Um, I have a family thing." She shrugged.

"Again?" Mandy's hazel eyes narrowed. "You just said your parents were getting better about all this…"

Catherine looked startled at Mandy's wrong impression. "They are!" She insisted. "Really! My dad's got a company picnic and he wants me to play baseball with him, that's all." She twisted her lips into an odd looking smirk. "It's not like my mom or sister will spend all day outside or anything. Too hot, too humid, and too many bugs." She snickered at the last bit, remembering her little sister's belligerent whining. For once, Catherine was completely in the clear at home.

Mandy scoffed. "I'd love to meet your sister." That grin was not friendly in the least. "I'm scheduled to handle some Beedril next month…" She let the implications dangle in temptation.

Catherine laughed outright as she walked. "Better not," she heaved her bag onto her shoulder, "I rather like not being in trouble."

"It won't last!" came the retort as she headed home.

Catherine might have laughed at her friend's humor, but she still hoped she was wrong.

o.o.o.

Mandy had not been wrong. Catherine bitterly cursed her coworker's wisdom as she sat, helplessly, on the hard plastic seat outside the principal's office. She petulantly kicked her legs against the metal bar, knowing it annoyed the secretary. Crazy old hag shouldn't have been sneering at her anyway, it's not like she DID anything.

At least not anything dozens of other students did all time without consequence, but noooooo! Let's pick on the Pokemon trainer. Make an example of her. Why not?

Stupid teachers.

With their stupid rules.

Stupid, stupid rules about stupid phones!

Catherine vocally snarled, startling the secretary. Most school systems had given up banning phones years ago, mostly because it was a useless endeavor after cell phones had become so pervasive for so long. She had a cousin in Texas who was actually allowed to have hers in class. But Catherine's own school?

Oh, no.

Technically, phones were supposed to be off and in their lockers from the beginning of school to after you left school grounds. Technically, even bus drivers were allowed to confiscate them. Technically.

But everyone, teachers included, usually just kept them on silent. Most didn't bother putting them in lockers, just tucking them in pockets and sneaking them out between classes or any time teachers weren't looking directly at you. Nobody got in trouble unless they got obnoxious about it.

And here she was, in the office, for checking her texts during lunch!

And, oh goodness… And there was her mother. Catherine cringed visibly as the woman scorched her way through the door.

"What," her mother demanded far too calmly, "did you do?"

"Actually, Mrs. Richards," said the principal, finally emerging from his office, "I'd like it if we discussed that in my office." He gestured with one hand toward the imposing oak door and, at her mother's sharp nod, Catherine slunk in ahead of them both. She quickly claimed the chair in the furthest corner.

"It's actually quite disappointing, Ma'am." The man sounded so smarmy trying to butter up her mother. "Your daughter used to such a good student." Catherine made a sound of choked outrage at the use of past tense, and the principal actually gave her a smug, patronizing smile. Her mother's frown deepened into an alarming curve. "But I'm afraid she's just become so disruptive. First the cursing, and now _this_ ," he left off gustily.

"I'm aware of her detention last month," her mother said with the strictest etiquette. "But as far as I know it was her first, and _only_ , altercation here at school. What has changed that you think her so 'disruptive'?"

Catherine frowned. Did her mother just hiss at the principal?

The man looked startled. Oh, her mother _did_. Catherine snuck a peek at her mother's face. The woman could have been made of ice with that expression. She watched her mother as the principal explained the situation, making the whole thing seem outrageous and generally blowing it all out of proportion. Finally, her mother had apparently heard enough.

"Mr. Tullen," her mother started in a tone that usually sent Catherine running for cover, "It is the last period of the day. Class is still in session. And yet, despite that, on the short walk from the front door to your office there were no less than five students walking aimlessly with their phones in the hall, two more actively talking on them, and a teacher outside his classroom doing the exact same thing. And you called me." Mrs. Richards placed a hand ever so delicately on her chest despite the snarl in her voice. "At work. To your office. Because my daughter had her phone at her locker during lunch." She carefully turned to Catherine. "What were you doing?"

Slightly awed at her mother's behavior Catherine very carefully stated, "Checking a text message from work." And didn't that sound perfectly responsible? "Mr. Carter wants me to pick up printer ink on the way," she added helpfully.

Her mother pinned the man with a dark look. "Mr. Tullen, I understand that students can be very … disruptive … with their phones on occasion. However, I've never known Catherine to be so irresponsible. Her father got her that phone specifically for work. And it certainly doesn't sound like she interrupted anything seeing as it was her lunch. This is the first incident you've had with my daughter, is it not?"

"Ye-es, ma'am," the principal quavered at the dangerous tone in the woman's voice.

Mrs. Richards gave him the blandest gaze. "Then give her the verbal warning dictated in the rule book for first offenses, give her back her phone, and do NOT call me in the middle of a meeting for something so simple again. There's only twenty minutes left of the school day. I'm signing Catherine out and she will see you all tomorrow." And with that Mrs. Richards stood up and swept out of the room, with Catherine following in her wake.

As her mother drove her to the Office Depot, Catherine dared to ask, "So… I'm not in trouble?"

Her mother gave her a completely unimpressed look.

"You're grounded."

Catherine groaned.


End file.
